For quite some time, activists and sincere proponents of change have been stuck in a repetitive cycle utilizing reactionary tactics to facilitate rarely successful attempts at critically analyzing important environmental, societal, and economic reform. As a result of this and more, the Campaign to Boycott, Divest and Decentralize is forming a direction that focuses on real significant change by answering key questions about how we go about change as things stand now.
But just what causes us to come up short so often in making valuable changes? We fail, time and again, at reforming the political framework that is necessary, thereby becoming more and more delusional with each attempt at mediocrity while becoming more and more desperate for others to save us when we seem to constantly fall short.
We become simultaneously dazzled and yet hazy with sensationalism, as though we are incapable of leading ourselves. That is not to say governing doesn’t serve an enormous purpose in society. Rather, we need to prioritize our strategies at implementing democratization. Every time we return to the same tactics, we exhaust time and resources that could have been repurposed.
Citizens’ coalitions become marginalized when we get split into vacuums of political discord. Many strides towards change have been hijacked by our political figures as though change came through them, which most know is rarely true. “We the people” have placed enormous pressures on political figures and those figures caved to into our pressure. Activists (who are sometimes just individuals) have led every monumental reform, yet throughout history these victories have been credited to political parties and figures, minimizing the involvement of people-led movements.
It’s time we reconsider our tactics. It’s time we make strong coalitions, teaming up without ideological attachments and movements that focus on we the people, displacing exclusive titles. The Campaign to Boycott, Divest and Decentralize is moving us a direction that focuses on real significant change. Its precepts are based on similar tactics used by Gandhi in the 1920’s against the British government. It utilizes a similar tactic used by Martin Luther King during the Montgomery bus boycott. It’s based on the same tactics of the Anti-Apartheid Movement of the 1960’s. It’s the same tactics as the new age boycotts of the NoDAPL (No Dakota Access Pipeline) divestments; the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanction) Movement; and various Media boycotts as well. These are the same tactics promoted by movements like The Zeitgeist Movement and those alike. This is about creating the alternative, and by not reforming a system that is inherently corrupt.
R. Buckminster once said “you never change people by fighting their existing reality.” We must create an alternative to the current system that has helped bring democracy, but is now failing its citizens on a level that is irreversible. We cannot afford to waste time, talent and resources, it’s time we make the system obsolete with a system that is democratically superior.
This boycott campaign looks to be a campaign of promoting a value assessment by revitalizing our values around strong principles. This is a true revolutionary movement where we take direct responsibility for our actions. The boycott is a campaign against institutions that don’t show good practice when considering economic, social and environmental stability, be they domestic or foreign in nature. It’s a campaign to take a stance against establishments that undermine privacy, promote prioritization, and look to monetize above all. Join us in taking back power through changing our consumer habits, media consumption, banking practices, investment choices, and any other categories in which can impose our will. It’s time we create the world we wish to see. This campaign isn’t a competition or a dictatorship of specifics, it is a preparation for moving in a principled direction. It will be difficult and inconvenient at times, so it is extremely advised to move at your pace. This is not for anyone to dictate when to take action or what actions to take exclusively, but to encourage each other to take action. If we can all reform how we consume, invest and support in just one area we can create a very powerful chain reaction. If we can choose companies that propose decentralization and sustainability, we can promote democracy, and empower innovators, companies and establishments who truly choose to contribute in a principled manner. Take this pledge to boycott, divest and decentralize. It’s time we take matters in our own hands.
Areas to Divest
Electronics:
There are many factors to assess when considering why to divest and boycott companies from the electronic industry. Below are a few reasons to reconsider how we consume in this field.
Conflict minerals:
There is much concern around the exploitation and trade of conflict minerals by armed groups mainly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). These armed groups supply minerals to companies at a fraction of the value. In 2010, Congress passed the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which included a provision, Section 1502, mandating that companies listed on American Stock Exchanges disclose whether their products contain conflict minerals. This has helped decrease conflict transactions and hold companies accountable for their contribution to this humanitarian conflict. Although, the provision does not require firms to avoid conflict minerals, and furthermore President Trump signed an executive order that will potentially dismantle the Dodd Frank Act putting Section 1502 in jeopardy.
(http://www.raisehopeforcongo.org/content/conflict-minerals-company-rankings-0)
Slave labor
Social media
TO BE CONTINUED…
Khaliq Sim 